Pupusas
Difficulty 4/5 Ingredients 12 Steps 10
A pupusa is a stuffed corn-tortilla, usually served with a spicy coleslaw called curtido. Pupusas originated in El Salvador, but immigrants have taken the dish to other Central American countries and beyond. Pupusas are hand-made and thick. Like all corn tortillas, they are made using corn masa. They are stuffed with one or more of the following:
Ingredients
Dough
- Corn masa
- Water
Cheese filling
- 3 cups of shredded cheese (use a combination of hard and soft cheese; you can mix frying cheese, mozzarella, and ricotta)
- 3–4 tablespoons of heavy cream
- ½–1 cup of loroco (this can be hard to source, so you can use very finely chopped green peppers or scallions instead)
- Salt to taste
Chicharron (pork rind filling)
- 1 cup bacon
- Garlic (optional), minced
- 4–5 tomatoes
- 1 green pepper
- Salt to taste
Revueltas filling
- Ground and fried beans (can be canned or prepared from your favorite recipe)
Steps
Dough
- Make tortilla dough per masa bag instructions, as much as needed. One pupusa uses about as much dough as two tortillas.
- Set dough aside while preparing filling.
Cheese filling
- Make paste with all ingredients, not too soft, to avoid leaking.
Chicharron filling
- Cook bacon with some garlic. Set fat aside; do not discard.
- Grind cooked bacon with tomatoes, green pepper and salt to taste.
- Mix in some bacon fat to soft consistency.
Revueltas filling
- Prepare ground and fried beans as desired.
- Shape and fill 2 tbsp dough per pupusa with bean, chicharrón and/or cheese fillings, by either method. Beginner method: shape dough into ball. Clap between hands into round, thin tortilla about ⅛ in thick. Make more tortillas. Put filling on one tortilla. Cover with another. Press sides to seal. Experienced method: shape dough into ball. Insert thumb to make hole in center. Fill hole. Seal by pushing and pinching sides of dough up. Carefully clap between hands to flatten without pressing out filling.
- Cook pupusas on lightly greased griddle, pan or electric pancake griddler over low-medium heat (325–350°F), one side then the other, until cooked. Each side is ready when it no longer sticks to pan; 4 minutes or more per side depending on thickness.
- Top with curtido and tomato sauce.
Notes from the original
- There are different brands of corn masa to make the dough. MASECA, which can be found in most large American supermarkets in the international section, is one of them but there are others.
- If you can find it, try replacing the cheese filling with prepared queso con loroco. You won't get the authentic flavor from a pupusa if you use American ingredients.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Pupusas” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-04-12, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Pupusas.jpg by Renee Comet (photographer), Public domain, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.